Kidney failure means that your kidneys are no longer able to sufficiently cleanse the blood and remove extra fluid from your body; you therefore need to cleanse your body in another way.
The outpatient clinic measures your kidneys’ ability to cleanse the blood in your body; this is called eGFR. An eGFR below 10 ml/min is often the limit for needing dialysis and most patients have symptoms of kidney failure.
It differs from person to person when you reach this limit; maybe it will take weeks, months, and even years. Most often, your condition slowly deteriorates over months, but the deterioration will be faster if you for example get an infection.
Together with you, the healthcare staff will work to delay the time when you need dialysis and slow down the progression of kidney failure. We know it is important to start dialysis as planned. This means that you need to make a decision and to have a dialysis access established as soon as possible.
The symptoms of kidney failure are not necessarily symptoms that you would associate with kidney failure. The symptoms usually come quietly over a period of time, and you may not notice them because you have gotten used to them.
But try to think back a year to remember how it was at that time. Figure 2 shows the most common symptoms of kidney failure. Try to discuss these symptoms with a person who knows you very well. Maybe it is easier for that person to see these symptoms in you.